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caroisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ingrid is a Taiwanese-American grad student at a Harvard-like university, struggling to finish her dissertation on the works of Chinese-American poet Xiao-Wen Chou. She relies on an addiction to allergy meds to get through her anxiety and procrastination, and feels strongly this isn't the work she should be doing. Right away, we are introduced to scenes of her taking a backseat to white men, including her own fiancé, on topics about her own culture. The plot continues in a feverish nightmare, as Ingrid is shaken by the truth of her work, and realization of the incredibly racist world she's tried to function in.
Admittedly, I couldn't get into Elaine Hsieh Chou's writing style, but appreciated her funny storytelling, and extremely unlikeable characters. The author unlocked a lot of my own trauma, with anecdotes about trying to fit in with white friends, being ashamed of our own culture, the incessant need to question if someone is interested in us because they have a fetish. A lot of these themes are told in a continuous loop that could've been edited down, but I totally get the need to expand on topics that aren't represented enough. After reading R. F. Kuang's "Yellowface," with a white character faking Asian identity and struggling to find fault with what she's doing, "Disorientation"
Give this a read if you're interested in Asian American themes, funny stories on grad school life, and whimsical sleuth-style storytelling.
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism
scarroll178's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation
slaywithsteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where she began in a pool of her own internalized racism, she emerged with eyes wide open. Where she once made herself smaller, she reclaimed her space. Where she began unsure, she became certain. Where she began meek, she ended strong.
This is a book that I will remember.
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Deportation, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence and Misogyny
kathshiroma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Stalking, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, Violence, and Sexual violence
Minor: Body shaming, Colonisation, Outing, and Deportation
sweetsouthwest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Xenophobia
Minor: Trafficking, Racial slurs, Deportation, and Violence
lily1304's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I also loved Ingrid as a main character - so adrift, and trying on different personalities and ideologies over the course of the story. I really grew to like her. I felt like she was oddly trapped in the 2000s, something about her made me stop and wonder whether the setting was the 2000s. I think that was intentional, and it added something to the story - I don't know how to phrase exactly what.
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Deportation
The main character abuses allergy medsdanidamico's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
La autora Elaine Hsieh Chou logra construir un texto gracioso y perturbador en partes iguales, explorando las distintas formas en las que el racismo afecta particularmente a las mujeres asiáticas, desde la subestimación e infantilización en el ámbito académico, pasando por la fetichización sexual y la misoginia. El tono de la novela me hizo acordar un poco a Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead de Emily Austin, una de mis lecturas favoritas del año pasado. Comparten un sentido del humor absurdo, algo tragicómico, y protagonistas neuróticas y algo problemáticas. Me gustó mucho el desarrollo de Ingrid, en general suelo sentirme identificada con ese tipo de personajes.
Sí tengo que decir que algunas partes de la trama me parecieron un poco predecibles, en especial el descubrimiento que Ingrid hace alrededor del 30% del libro. Creo que el impacto del
Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Racism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Deportation and Hate crime
ramreadsagain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It talks about so many things, from yellowface and cultural appropriation/fetishism to internalised racism, academic burnout, and more.
It was entertaining throughout, definitely a ‘food for thought’ kind of book.
My only gripe is with a couple of characters. I found Ingrid to be frustratingly naive and stupid ay times though I believe this was intentional. Eunice also felt underdeveloped and I would have liked to have seen more of her storyline.
Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Racism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Colonisation, Suicide attempt, and Deportation
harperhoney's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Deportation, Addiction, Body shaming, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Police brutality, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Ableism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Outing
rachaelwho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Addiction, Racism, Racial slurs, Outing, Misogyny, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse